First day of voting begins
SALINAS, Calif. (KION)
Many people came out to the Monterey County Elections Office, Monday, to cast their vote early as California commenced its first day of voting for the 2020 Presidential election.
This is one of two locations in Monterey County that opened for in-person voting.
One man who showed up to cast his vote said this was his first time voting for a presidential election.
"“I think all humans are procrastinators at heart, I know that if I didn’t get it done early I probably would’ve forgot and I didn’t want to forget just because it’s such a big time in the country," says Keony Encinias.
Aside from ballot safety and fraud precautions, COVID-19 safety precautions were set in place.
At the Monterey County Elections Office, booths are separated and sanitized after every person.
A voter tent was also placed outside in their parking lot for people who preferred not to go inside to cast their vote.
Staff at the Monterey County Elections office said their phone lines were ringing all day, something they say is a sign that voter turn out could increase.
"Today we can start processing the ballots we received and I think the reason is so that we can start moving everything along and we can make everything go more smoothly," says Ayna Gutierrez.
Statistics from the 2020 California Secretary of State 60 Day Report show the number of registered eligible voters on the Central Coast has increased since 2016.
In Monterey County, the percentage of registered eligible voters went up 10 percent.
In San Benito and Santa Cruz County, the report shows a 13 percent jump.
Ballot drop off boxes are widely available, many accepting ballots 24 hours a day leading up to election day on November 3rd.
For information on elections in Monterey County, visit https://www.montereycountyelections.us
For information on elections in Santa Cruz County, visit https://www.votescount.us
For information on elections in San Benito County, visit http://sbcvote.us/registrar-of-voters/
More tonight at 10 and 11 p.m.
